Bandelier National MonumentPhoto taken by and courtesy
of Shannon Bell

Bandelier National Monument was first occupied by the Anasazi in the
late 12th-early 13th centuries. The monument's sheer canyon walls contain
numerous cave dwellings as well as petroglyphs (pictures pecked onto
rock surfaces) and pictographs (pictures painted onto rock surfaces)
that date from this period. Surface dwellings include the remains of
two large villages, Tyuonyi and Tsankawi. Most of the occupants had
vacated the area by the mid-1500s for unknown reasons. The distinctive
Pueblo-Revival style Visitors Center was built of hand-hewn stone by
the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930s, and today the Bandelier
CCC Historic District is a National
Historic Landmark.

Bandelier National Monument, administered by the National Park
Service, is 10 miles south of Los Alamos, New Mexico, on NM 4. The Visitors
Center is open daily from 8:00am to 6:00pm (Summer); 8:00am to 4:30pm
(Winter); 9:00am to 5:30pm (Spring/Fall). Please call 505-672-0343,
or visit the park's website for
further information.